Warrior Cat Tales Of Virtues
by Wildstar93
Summary: Inspired by IWalkBlindlyIntoTheDarkness' Darktail's Tales. This collection of one-shots tells many stories of warrior cats learning lessons in everyday Clan life. Which cats get rewarded for learning lessons? And which ones pay for bad virtues? Changed to rated T.
1. Bag Of Surprises

**Warrior Cat Cody: Hey there, everyone, and welcome to my new story! I've decided to start a series of one-shots of Warrior Cats as my new story. These were inspired by Darktail's Tales since I kinda liked those stories. But while those had quite some Downer Endings (and believe me, they can really move someone), I'd like to make some with Happy Endings or Bittersweet Endings.**

**I'll be starting first with some fan-made Clans: WaterClan, EarthClan, FireClan, and AirClan. These are inspired by the four elements from Avatar: The Last Airbender. Heck, I might even try with loners, rogues, kittypets, and more. But anyways, these stories will have lessons in them, life lessons we learn everyday. Oh, and these Clan territories will be inspired by scenery from Yellowstone National Park.**

**So now, let's get it started!**

**Disclaimer: The Warrior Cats series belongs to Erin Hunter, not me. I only own the characters in these stories...and the canon characters will NOT appear. That's why I said earlier that there'll be fan-made Clans.**

**Publishing Date: January 31, 2015**

**Enjoy!**

**...**

_**A Bag Of Surprises**_

"Nice catch, Pikepaw!" his mentor Quiverheart told him. "Keep this up, and you'll hunt as good as Badgerstar herself!"

"Thanks!" Pikepaw mewed through his mouthful of fish. The young golden tom tried hard not to crunch down on the fish, for he wasn't allowed to eat until he fed the rest of WaterClan. Still, it was very exciting to go hunting every day.

Quiverheart flicked his tail. "Now let's go ahead and take these back to camp. After that, why don't you get yourself something to eat? Looks like you haven't eaten since this morning!"

So Pikepaw followed his dark tabby mentor into the camp, where their leader Badgerstar was watching over the Clan. The WaterClan camp was beside a pond where fish could easily be easy pickings...but they preferred bigger areas to fish. Many dens were made up of reeds (only the leader's den was inside a redwood tree washed here many moons ago), but toms lived on one side of the camp while she-cats lived at the other.

The elders were lounging around near the entrance to their reed-covered den, the queens were watching their kits at play, and the warriors not up for patrol right away were either eating or sharing tongues. He had just arrived at the fresh-kill pole when he heard a familiar voice call to him.

"Hey! Come over here!"

Pikepaw looked around. His friend Starlingpaw and her younger littermate Flowerpaw were near the fresh-kill pile, picking out pieces of fresh-kill for themselves. He supposed they had gotten to feeding the elders, and he dropped the fish on the pile before sitting next to them.

"Flowerpaw and I thought of a hilarious prank," Starlingpaw purred, her black-and-white fur quivering with excitement. "That's our newest idea."

"Actually, it's Starlingpaw's idea," Flowerpaw added helpfully.

Starlingpaw rolled her eyes. "Flowerpaw, littermates do everything together. So if I say it's my idea, then it's _our _idea, okay?"

The light brown tabby nodded, but she didn't look convinced.

"So what's this hilarious prank?" Pikepaw asked.

"Well, Flowerpaw and I were out with Pigeonclaw and Dawnstorm near Tallpines," Starlingpaw meowed. "All four of us were watching Twolegs tying something in a sack and dumping something onto each other. What if we did that to some of the other Clans? They wouldn't dare show their faces around here after that!"

Flowerpaw still looked nervous, but Pikepaw was interested. Whatever prank they could pull could keep the other Clans off of their territory. They could even be heroes!

Finally, he meowed, "Okay, I'll try. But what're we gonna dump on the other Clans?"

"Maybe something like bones," Starlingpaw answered. "Or...this is gonna sound really really REALLY gross, but...maybe fox dung."

If there was anything to make Pikepaw and Flowerpaw jump back, it was the fox dung. Flowerpaw squealed, "Fox-dung?! Have you got rotting leaves in your head?! It's gross!"

Starlingpaw immediately held a paw up to her sister's mouth and hissed, "Shut up or you'll bring everyone here! But yeah, as gross as it sounds, it could be a good prank."

"Yeah, but...it's still gross," Pikepaw added.

"He's right," Flowerpaw piped in.

"Look, are you just gonna stay here and keep saying that it's gross," Starlingpaw snapped, "or are you gonna help? If you don't, then the other Clans will steal our prey!"

Pikepaw sighed and hung his head. He hated guilt-tripping, especially when it was coming from one of his best friends. And like he thought before, they could be heroes for keeping other Clan cats off the territory.

After some thinking, he mewed, "Okay, I'm in. But you gotta pay us back for helping you."

So that night, the three apprentices snuck out of their den, past the guards while saying they needed to hunt more, and set out towards the river. Pikepaw still felt grossed out by the fox-dung they had to use, but it could be useful as a weapon of mass destruction.

They had crossed into FireClan territory, which was on the other side of a river. FireClan was on an island, bordered on all sides by the river, which made Pikepaw wonder why they would settle on somewhere surrounded by water. The apprentices had arrived at its border, where Pikepaw and Flowerpaw were told to wait for Starlingpaw, and she did come to see them.

"Okay, you got the fox-dung?" Pikepaw asked.

"Yep," Starlingpaw meowed. "Thankfully, the fox that made it left a long while ago. Now all we gotta do is tie this into some leaves, tie this to a tree branch, and then wait for the prank to unfold."

Flowerpaw still looked unconvinced that this would work. "But...how do we tie it up?" she asked curiously. "We're cats."

Starlingpaw flicked her tail up and replied, "Just leave that to me. Remember that I'm part AirClan."

So the two other apprentices waited while the spunky apprentice did her best to tie up the dung in a leaf. Then Flowerpaw was tasked with tying the vine to the root of an oak tree, and Pikepaw was the one to climb carefully up the tree up to a low-hanging branch so he could tie up the leaf. Once he was done, he jumped down into the branches of a bush and crawled out to rejoin the sisters.

"You see, if they come out hunting near the Thunderpath, they'll notice that vine tied to the alder tree here," Starlingpaw mewed, gesturing towards the vine tied to a root. "When they cut it down, then all of that dung will fall onto them. Then they'll think they're attacked from above and run back to their camps."

"That way, they won't come into our territory?" Flowerpaw mewed.

Pikepaw nodded. "Yeah, that's what Starlingpaw said. Now let's get back to the camp or else we'll get caught faster than you can say 'vole.'"

**...**

The next morning, Pikepaw had woken up, tired from last night but satisfied. He had decided to go hunting with some of the other apprentices so that he, Starlingpaw, and Flowerpaw could keep it a secret. So far, hunting with Redpaw and Bearpaw had kept him busy, thus he had to work twice as hard to keep himself active during the day.

But the three apprentices had not gotten past the river when they heard a furious hiss ring out near them.

"When I find whoever did it to Quincepaw, I'll flay him until he's nothing but bones!"

"Calm yourself down, Tallears. As leader of FireClan, let me do most of the talking. Then you and the patrol can have your fun."

Pikepaw and the younger apprentices shared surprised looks before the former lifted his muzzle and sniffed. _FireClan!_ he thought angrily._ In our territory!_

With that, Pikepaw darted away into the shadows of the forest and to the camp. The other apprentices followed him, yowling, "Wait!" and "Don't get all the glory of beating FireClan!"

Nearly a few minutes later, they had made it back to the camp, cats asking where the fresh-kill was. Quickly, Pikepaw went over what was going on, Badgerstar listening not too far away. Finally, the black-and-white cat rose to her feet on the redwood tree.

"Very well. We will need to chase them away." Turning to a brownish-gray cat, she commanded, "Grayleaf, gather a patrol and get ready to meet FireClan."

"No need to send out a patrol, Badgerstar. I'm already here."

Every head looked around at the owner of the voice. Viperstar of FireClan was here; beside him were an angry black cat and a gray tabby she-cat. They didn't look like a battle party, but perhaps they were there to talk? But the look on the black tom's face told him that there was going to be more than just words carried out here.

"FireClan has come here to punish one of your apprentices," Viperstar growled, sweeping his glare over the WaterClan camp.

"Why?" Badgerstar leaped down until she faced the smaller pale gray tom. "What gives you the right to punish WaterClan apprentices?"

Viperstar gave her a cool stare before he meowed, "I'm glad you asked me that, Badgerstar." He flicked his tail for the long-eared ginger tom to speak up, saying, "Tallears, tell them."

Tallears stepped forward and hissed, "My daughter was the victim of a callous prank on her first night out as an apprentice. She had seen something dangling from a tree branch by a vine, and when she cut the vine, it fell on her, and it was fox-dung!"

Shame creeping into his skin, Pikepaw looked down to the ground. He had been a part of that prank, and he was the one who had set the trap. But he had wanted a warrior to activate it, not a newly-made apprentice!

Badgerstar's eyes were wide as eggs as she hissed, "Why would any of our apprentices do that? They would know better!"

Viperstar snorted. "Not everything's as black and white in the Clans as your fur, you know," he growled. "And not only that, but those apprentices had trespassed on our territory, which is forbidden by the warrior code. So you either fess up, or you'll have all of FireClan declaring war on you."

"Wait!" Pikepaw stepped forward as soon as the word "war" escaped Viperstar's mouth. "I don't wanna fight in a war. I was the one who set up the trap. I didn't realize what it would do, and I'm sorry."

Tallears let out a growl, but Viperstar held our a foreleg to stop him before glancing at Badgerstar. The WaterClan leader had just been as shocked as he was when Pikepaw announced what he had done. For a few moment, silence washed over all the cats.

Then Viperstar declared, "I declare that Pikepaw of WaterClan shall be punished. But...not harshly," he added to surprised meows. "What he had done was wrong, but he had decided to tell the truth and thus avoided a fight. Therefore, he shall miss only one Gathering...if that's all right with you, Badgerstar."

"Normally, I won't be told what to do on my Clan's territory," Badgerstar meowed back. "But I agree with you for once, Viperstar. Pikepaw, you will have to miss the upcoming Gathering."

"Aww, you're missing a Gathering?" Starlingpaw whined. "Even after one prank we pulled?"

"Wait, that was YOU?!" Tallears snarled, claws unsheathing.

Right away, Starlingpaw stepped back as her eyes widened with terror. Quickly, Pikepaw spoke up, "Don't be hard on her! She didn't think she'd harm anyone!"

Tallears snorted. "Anyone who hurts my daughter is as fair game as a rogue!"

"Enough," Viperstar growled sternly. To Starlingpaw, he snapped, "An apprentice setting up a prank is one thing...but letting someone else take the blame for your own prank is another."

"I'm disappointed in you, Starlingpaw," Badgerstar told the apprentice, eyes narrowed. "But you won't be punished harshly since you too confessed after Pikepaw did. So you too will have to miss the coming Gathering."

Starlingpaw opened her mouth to protest, but she did close it under the stern stares of the two leaders.

Viperstar looked back at Badgerstar. "My warriors and I will take our leave," he meowed smoothly. "But anything like that happens again, and I'll report it at the next Gathering."

Badgerstar nodded. "And I will take full responsibility. StarClan be with you, Viperstar."

The FireClan leader nodded once and flicked his tail for his warriors to follow him. He turned around, and the FireClan cats made their way through the WaterClan crowd and out of the camp. Pikepaw watched them go before sighing in relief; thanks to admitting the prank, they had actually diverted a war. They probably wouldn't stop FireClan from trespassing in the future, but averting a war was even better.

"Hey," Starlingpaw mewed, coming up to him. "You didn't have to stick up for us."

"But you're my friend," Pikepaw meowed. "I'm sorry you got into trouble."

Starlingpaw shook her head. "No, I deserved that. I didn't want you to get into trouble either because of me. So no more pranks for a while. Flowerpaw made me promise."

Pikepaw smirked. "Because littermates do everything together?"

"Exactly," the black-and-white apprentice purred. "And I learned my lesson. If you do a prank, at least be honest about it."

**...**

**Warrior Cat Cody: Well, there you have it. This is the first story in this Fic, and the lesson here? A little dishonesty can lead to big trouble. I hope you like it, because I can fix it if you don't. Or if there's anything missing here, please let me know so I can go back and fix it.**

**I've also decided on a pattern of sorts. Odd chapters will have good virtues, and even chapters will have the bad. Plus, WaterClan will go first, then EarthClan, FireClan, and AirClan. On the fifth chapter, it'll be reversed, going from AirClan to WaterClan. By the way, if you can find a Harry Potter reference here, you'll get a brownie. Virtual, that is.**

**See ya next time!**


	2. Fractured

**Warrior Cat Cody: Hey there, everyone, and welcome back to Warrior Cat Tales Of Virtues! So far, this FanFic's going okay, and that's good. If it's not too good, that's not bad. That one's from Wreck-It-Ralph, by the way.**

**Anyways, we got through the good virtues part...and now we're gonna go through the bad virtues part. It's not gonna be gory like Grimm's fairy tales, but the consequences are not gonna be good. Some may be redeemable while others won't get off that easily. And the opposite of honesty is dishonesty, which is the part of this story.**

**Now on with the story!**

**Uploading Date: February 1, 2015**

**Enjoy!**

**...**

_**Fractured**_

After scaling up some rocks, Jaggedpaw was able to finally find a snake slithering over some rocks to sun itself. He crouched low on a rock, his tabby pelt rippling with excitement, and leaped at it. However, the snake hissed, rattling its tail as a warning, before slinking away into the cracks.

The thrill of the hunt was over that quickly. Jaggedpaw glared angrily down at his paws; it wasn't fair that he was the slowest cat in the Clan, even slower than the oldest elder. If StarClan had just given him superb hunting skills, then he would catch the fastest rabbit or burrow deep to catch that snake. He was descending down the rocks and into the forest when he heard a familiar voice ring out through the deciduous trees.

"Jaggedpaw! Where were you? Look what Elkpaw caught!"

Jaggedpaw forced himself to keep his ears straight when he heard Fallowfawn call to him. He hated all the attention his brother was getting for his hunting prowess and his popularity with the other apprentices. The others didn't treat Jaggedpaw badly, but they did pay more attention to Elkpaw more than him.

But he forced himself to go over to where the apprentices being accessed had gathered, at a stump that towered over two different paths. The one on the left led to somewhere deeper into the forest, while the right path led to the rockier areas of the territory and to their camp. Anyway, five cats were sitting in a circle: Elkpaw holding a freshly-caught pheasant on the ground, their mother Fallowfawn, ginger-furred Sunclaw, and Rockpaw and Nightpaw ( dark brown and black respectively).

"You see that?" Nightpaw purred, her blue eyes shining as she looked down at the bird. "He caught that pheasant on his own!"

"I heard those are rare in EarthClan," Rockpaw added.

Elkpaw purred. "Hey, it's nothing compared to what else I caught. A rabbit and a ground squirrel." He looked back at Jaggedpaw and went on, "And this pheasant can really feed the Clan. It's nice and pump too."

Jaggedpaw glanced down at the pheasant and frowned some more. "Yeah...I see."

"Jaggedpaw, don't look so down," Fallowfawn told him, laying a paw on his shoulder. "You're as good as Elkpaw; you just have to let this sibling rivalry go, that's all."

But that made Jaggedpaw feel more dejected. Couldn't his own mother see his jealousy right now? He wanted nothing more right now than to catch his prey, take it back home, and bury himself in a hole to avoid hearing more praise for Elkpaw.

As if noticing this, Sunclaw meowed loudly, "Er...you've got two more pieces of prey to catch, everyone. Let's get to it so you can pass your assessment."

So the apprentices split back up into hunting on their own. Jaggedpaw went alongside the forest path, aware that he was vulnerable like this, open to attacks from bears, badgers, foxes, or rogue cats. Anyway, he had gone and caught a ground squirrel, burying it before wondering what to do to best Elkpaw in their assessment. It had to be something to get their Clanmates talking.

Then he saw a stone lying there just under a bush and looked up. Elkpaw was padding down the path, sniffing for prey, so he ducked under the bush and out of sight and scent. Hoping that no one saw him looking, Jaggedpaw turned around and kicked the stone as hard as he could where he believed would be where Elkpaw would walk to.

A yelp told him that he had succeeded in hitting the brown tom. He ran out to the middle of the path and noticed Elkpaw lying there, grunting in pain and dragging his leg around as he tried to crawl away. It wasn't broken, but it did injure the muscle just as he needed.

"Elkpaw!" Fallowfawn had run over to Elkpaw's side before turning to Jaggedpaw. "What happened?"

Jaggedpaw glanced around, trying to come up with any kind of story, any kind. Then he noticed a branch sticking out on the path, the bark having been peeled away to reveal the splintery wood beneath.

So he turned around and, keeping his face straight, meowed, "Elkpaw was running down the path when there was a branch in the way. I tried to tell him to stop, but he wouldn't listen. Then he just went ahead and crashed into it, breaking his leg."

"Oh my..." Fallowfern looked down sorrowfully at her other son. "Elkpaw, why didn't you slow down?"

"It's not broken; I just bumped against it," Elkpaw grunted, trying to get to his feet. "I'm fine, Mom. Seriously."

Fallowfern covered him in motherly licks, her brown fur a quiver. "Nonsense! Look at your leg!"

"Nothing to do now except take him back and let Branchfur check on it," Sunclaw's voice spoke up, he and some warriors heading over to them. "Now let's get the fresh-kill up, pick Elkpaw up, and talk to Lionstar. And Jaggedpaw, Rockpaw, and Nightpaw might be becoming warriors tonight!"

Offering to pick up his brother, Jaggedpaw felt a little nagging voice tell him that he shouldn't have said that lie. But he wasn't bothered by it now. He was going to be a warrior before his brother.

**...**

The night had arrived at last. Jaggedpaw was getting excited about finally becoming a warrior, all thoughts of Elkpaw out of his mind. Earlier, Elkpaw was confirmed to have a sprained foot and couldn't get back to training for a little while. Now Jaggedpaw was the talk of his Clanmates, and he was enjoying the talk and attention for once.

When the moon and stars appeared in the sky, all the cats were gathering in the center of the underground camp. The leader's den rested in a huge pillar of rock holding the entire cavern in one piece, and that was where Lionstar appeared from while calling for a Clan meeting. He was a huge ginger-furred cat with a flat face, long fluffy fur, and eyes the color of newleaf trees. As the cats gathered, he looked down upon his Clanmates fondly, as if they were his own kits, before he began the ceremony.

"I, Lionstar, leader of EarthClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down onto these cats. They are now ready to step into the lives of warriors, ready to serve their Clan until the end, and I commend them to you as warriors." He looked down to meow on in his booming voice, "Jaggedpaw, Rockpaw, and Nightpaw, do you agree to take on the name of the warrior, to protect, feed, and serve your Clan even at the cost of your life?"

"I do!" Jaggedpaw cheered, the other two following him.

"Then I hearby make you warriors," Lionstar meowed. Touching Jaggedpaw's forehead with his nose, he went on, "Jaggedpaw, from this moment on, you will be known as Jaggedtail. StarClan honors your courage and honesty, and I welcome you as a warrior of EarthClan."

But when Lionstar said "honesty", Jaggedtail looked down at his paws, now feeling guilt well up inside him. The same thing could be said for Elkpaw...but his brother wouldn't be back in training for a while. Suddenly, the feelings of becoming a new warrior faded away until he no longer felt good about himself. He watched on as Rockwing and Nightfeather got their warrior names too before the Clan started chanting their names to the crisp starlit air.

"Tonight, you three will sit vigil for the camp until dawn," Lionstar finished the ceremony. "May StarClan be-"

"Wait!" Jaggedtail yowled, causing surprised yowls to occur. "Lionstar, can I speak to you?"

Around them, the cats were murmuring, elders even talking about "disrespect for tradition". Even Lionstar looked disapproving as he asked, "Can't this wait until tomorrow morning? This is a time for you to guard the Clan at night, on your first night as warriors."

The EarthClan leader was right, Jaggedtail realized. He sighed and muttered, "Yes, Lionstar. I'll wait until dawn."

**...**

After a night of keeping vigil, the sun was now rising over the land. Jaggedtail could barely keep his eyes wide open while Rockwing and Nightfeather had kept each other awake by nudging each other. From the way the sunlight was hitting the trees outside the cave, the sun was rising from the west. Now Jaggedtail was feeling so tired that he nearly forgot what he was going to tell Lionstar about; perhaps they could talk after some rest?

"You three." All three cats looked around to see Lionstar standing before them. "You're allowed to speak now. Nightfeather and Rockwing, you can go get a bite to eat and then rest until you get on a patrol. You deserve a good sleep." And with that, the two cats nodded and left right before Lionstar finished, "As for you, Jaggedtail, you come with me first and then rest. I recall you wanted to speak with me."

Jaggedtail nodded, feeling more awake now. Lionstar turned around and headed towards his den, the smaller cat following him. Just like the pillar, the leader's den was big and wide, a big group of rocks sitting on the other side of the room. Lionstar sat on top of this pile of rocks, meowed "Explain", and waited until Jaggedtail sat down before him.

"I have a confession," Jaggedtail meowed after taking a deep breath. "Remember when Elkpaw tripped and broke his leg?"

Lionstar nodded. "Yes. Go on."

Jaggedtail looked down at his paws now. "Well...I lied about him doing that. I was the one who tripped him."

"Why didn't you say something before?" his leader growled, now glaring down at him. "You should've told the truth or asked for help during hunting. And you know how I feel about littermates turning against each other. I don't suppose I should tell you again about what happened to my brother?"

"No..." He had heard about how, jealous of Lionstar, his brother Mallowclaw tried hunting a bear and ended up getting killed for it.

Lionstar did not drop the glare. "Then you'll have to admit your mistake in front of everyone. And after that, I will take away your warrior name and go back to being an apprentice." Jaggedtail opened his mouth to speak, but his leader overrode him, "No, don't argue. You had gotten your warrior name in a dishonest way, and until you learn _true _honesty, you'll have to wait to get your name back."

_I guess I can't argue, _Jaggedtail thought. He watched as Lionstar stalked out of his den and out onto the rock where he looked over his Clanmates. The big ginger cat kinked his tail towards him, a signal to walk over. So Jaggedtail slunk over and sat next to him before Lionstar finally spoke.

"Let all cats old enough to catch prey come for a meeting at the Big Rock!"

Confused voices rang out through the camp as they came out before gathering at the foot of the pillar. He looked to the side, seeing Elkpaw at the entrance of the medicine den between the apprentices' den and the elders' den. His brother's face was curious when he met Jaggedtail's gaze, making the latter feel even more uncomfortable at what Lionstar was going to say.

"Cats of EarthClan, it appears that I have made a mistake," the big ginger tom was announcing. "Jaggedtail had told me the truth behind Elkpaw getting injured. Would you like to tell them?" he added to the younger warrior.

Jaggedtail cleared his throat, stepped forward, and meowed, "Lionstar's right. I know what happened to Elkpaw. I was the one who had done it." Gasps rose up from the Clan, and several angry hisses were aimed at Jaggedtail. The tabby tom himself dipped his head in shame as he continued, "I was jealous of him getting all the attention, so I set up a trap for him to get injured."

"Until he learns to put jealousy and dishonesty aside, he will go back to being Jaggedpaw," Lionstar went on. "However, he will not be entirely punished. Due to having learned almost everything, he will learn the last bit from other mentors. And anyone else who tried to punish him more than needed will be punished themselves. This meeting is at an end."

With that, the cats dispersed, some muttering while shooting Jaggedpaw dark looks. Jaggedpaw watched them go before heading out of the camp until he arrived at the edge of the forest, staring out into the dark woods and beyond. Elkpaw would be bound to get his warrior name now, but he wouldn't blame him for that anymore.

_I'm sorry, brother. I shouldn't have done all that. You should've been the warrior today, not me._

**_To be continued..._**

**...**

**Warrior Cat Cody: That's the lesson of this story: little lies can lead to some big trouble. And when it comes out, the consequences will not be good. Anyway, I hope you all like this chapter, because I can try and fix it if you find a mistake, and please be polite and constructive about it.**

**I don't believe I told you about the Clan camps yet. EarthClan's camp ****camp is underground, beneath the deciduous trees, but there is a hole in the side of a cliff so they can see the setting sun. There is a large pillar in the middle of the cave, where the leader's den is at. The elders and queens rest at the back of the cave, protected by the apprentices and warriors at the entrance of the camp. And you can all see where the medicine den is at.**

**So that's it for EarthClan for now. I'll give more information of the other Clans later.**

**See ya next time! And Happy almost Groundhog Day!**


	3. The Mysterious Prey-Giver

**Warrior Cat Cody: Hey there, everyone, and welcome back to Warrior Cat Tales Of Virtues! I've been kinda busy with some stuff, but I'll be working some more on FanFiction. And I've been working my hardest to do so too.**

**So anyway, I think you might be noticing the pattern in the story now. The first two had the toms and the next two will have the she-cats. After that, it'll be reversed going from AirClan to WaterClan. And starting on the ninth chapter, it'll be the reverse of the first eight chapter; you'll find out how it works. Plus, it's inspired by the list of virtues, so it'll take around fifty-two chapters.**

**Now that that's done, let's get on with this chapter and on with the story!**

**Uploading Date: February 24, 2015**

**Enjoy!**

**...**

_**The Mysterious Prey-Giver**_

"Come on, Quinceheart. Time to wake up. First day as a warrior!"

With a stretch and a yawn, Quinceheart rose from her nest and stretched. The cream-furred she-cat had just become a warrior of FireClan last night, having gone through plenty of moons to training. It had gone smoothly except on her first night, when she had been set up for a mean trick from WaterClan apprentices. But other than that, the six moons of training went okay.

Above her was Silvershade, her older sister from an older litter. The dark silver tabby cat was usually stoic, but she would open her heart and emotions to family members.

"Morning, sis," Quinceheart replied, giving one more yawn. "What's up?"

Silvershade shivered a bit, the dark stripes along her body shimmering like a fish. "Well, it's time to go hunting; we gotta find out who's been leaving food on the border lately. Anyone you wanna take with you?"

Quinceheart glanced over across the camp to where the elders were gathering. One elder came across her mind: Mossface, their grandfather from their father's side. He had always had stories and joke to tell even if they woke up the other elders.

So she mewed, "Can I go see the elders first? I wanna see how Grandpa's doing."

"Sure," Silvershade replied. "Just come to the camp entrance when you're done. I gotta go on a hunting patrol near EarthClan. Tell me how he's doing."

Quinceheart got out of the den and crossed over to the elder's den, which rested under a tree stump where a pine tree used to be. Around her, large pillars of rock towered over the camp like the pine trees in FireClan territory. Cats were busy as usual in FireClan, and that was the way she liked it.

When she got to the elders' den, the first cat to greet her was grumpy old Hawktalon. "Why do you have to disturb us this early?" he growled, turning around. "Can't an old cat get some sleep without young'uns barging in on us?"

"Sorry," Quinceheart mewed.

"Don't be," Mossface's voice spoke up, making her look at the old gray tom. "Hawktalon's been hanging around his nest ever since that falcon nearly tore his tail off. He'll be fine." Ignoring a huff from the tabby tom, he went on, "How would you like to hear a story?"

Quinceheart's tail quivered. "Yes please! But please hurry; I'm gonna go on patrol soon."

Mossface sat up and meowed, "All right then. It's going to be a story about a Clan far away from the four Clans, one called ThunderClan."

That made Quinceheart and the elders listen to this tale. The legend had been passed down from the oldest elders of the newly-formed Clans to the kits of the present day, how four Clans came together inspired by four Clans that lived by a lake.

"Let me tell you about one of their leaders, a cat named Firestar," Mossface went on. "Viperstar may say that he doesn't like kittypet blood in the Clan, but I've always not been bothered by it as long as they do their best. Anyway, Firestar had been a kittypet for the first six moons of his life before becoming a Clan cat. He eventually rose to become one of the best well-known leaders, but others didn't agree with many decisions he made."

"What kind?" Quinceheart asked, but she knew the answer.

"He let in kittypets and loners," gray-furred Plumwhisker rasped, her blind eyes shining. "I wasn't really thrilled about it at first when I heard of it. Kittypets and loners were usually never allowed to become Clan cats."

"Why should they?" Hawktalon growled. "Why can't they let us Clan cats be in peace?"

Mossface looked over to him. "Not every cat lives in a Clan, my old friend. Just like not every stripe on a tabby is the same." He turned back to his waiting granddaughter and said, "Plumwhisker is right, though; Firestar did let kittypets and loners into the Clan, but they were able to contribute to their Clan.

"Then this a lesson you must learn right away," Mossface concluded. "Ignorance is something that must be cautioned. If you want to be a leader one day, you will have to be respectful of other cats no matter their origin or ways. Do you understand?" With that, he gently licked Quinceheart's left ear, ignoring a tired snort from Hawktalon.

"Yeah," Quinceheart mewed, knowing that the old tom was right. "I'll try and remember."

Mossface nodded. "Good girl. As long as you try your best...including your patrol today." He curled up in his nest and wrapped his tail over his face. "Maybe you can catch that rogue who's been catching our food."

Quinceheart nodded and looked back out of the den. Just recently, there had been scents of another cat at the edge of their territory, supposedly stealing prey. However, instead of taking off with it, this cat seemed to be leaving the fresh-kill out in the open so that a patrol could pick it up. The other day, they had left a rabbit at the edge of the forest, and many cats were eager to get this "thief".

Gentle snoring sounds told Quinceheart that her grandfather had fallen fast asleep. With a nod towards the elders, she backed away from the elders' den and towards the camp entrance.

**...**

The hunting patrol wasn't going as well as the FireClan cats had hoped for. Since it was greenleaf, the trees had bright green leaves that blocked the sun, making it hard to see hawks soaring through the canopy. So Quinceheart had decided to hunt in the barren area in the forest where there used to be a volcano; the mountainside hadn't been overrun by lava for many many moons. Thus, it was safe for cats to hunt at and for other animals to live peacefully.

Anyway, Quinceheart was just stalking a mouse...though not completely focused on the mouse. She was watching a hawk on a pine tree branch spotting the mouse and flying over towards it. She remembered hearing stories of how Fire, the founder of FireClan, had adopted this kind of hunting skill from a Tribe that lived not too far away. Once the hawk had captured the mouse, it started to lift up and was about to get fully airborne when a flash of black-and-white collided with the bird and sent it crashing down into the bushes.

Quinceheart stepped back, amazed, as the scuffle continued in the brambles. Just a minute later, and there was no more rustling...at least, not from the hawk.

"Sorry about the messy kill," the loner meowed, a cheerful black-and-white tom, as he hauled himself out of the brambles. "Hawks can be pretty tough with all their talons and stuff."

"Um...who are you?" Quinceheart asked. "And what're you doing in FireClan territory?"

The loner looked around before looking back at her. "It's a nice place. I remember being here before. And my name's Darwin, by the way," he added, answering her question. "I'm only out here until my owners come back."

Quinceheart blinked. "So you're a kittypet? I thought they were all fat and lazy?"

"Don't let appearances fool you," Darwin meowed, a hint of a warning in his voice. "By the way, I don't understand the prejudice Clan cats have against non-Clan cats. We're all cats, aren't we?"

Now that he mentioned it, Quinceheart admitted that the kittypet was right. Mossface had even told her about how kittypets, loners, and rogues had their own lives and she should respect them, and she felt ashamed for hinting that Darwin was fat and lazy. She had seen the way he had caught that hawk and brought it down with him into the bramble bushes.

So she mewed, "Sorry for calling you all that. I was just amazed, that's all."

Darwin was about to reply when a loud voice called, "Quinceheart! You there?"

She turned and saw a light brown tom making his way through the brambles until he was before her. Hareclaw was a cat who had trained beside her, and she had started having a crush on him. But there was no time for thinking that, for Hareclaw had noticed the black-and-white cat before them.

"What're you doing here, kittypet?" he growled. "This is FireClan land!"

"I know," Darwin replied. "I was just catching that hawk for you guys. You looked like you needed it, after having a tough leaf-bare and all. And please be a bit more respectful about where I come from."

Hareclaw frowned. "But Dad said that kittypets were nothing but fat and lazy sacks of fox dung who lie in the sun all day."

Quinceheart winced. His father was Viperstar, the leader of FireClan; some of his prejudices must have rubbed off on his son.

This time, it was Darwin who frowned. "I just finished telling your girlfriend over here-"

"Girlfriend?" Quinceheart asked, puzzled. "What's that?"

"Twoleg word for mate," Darwin replied.

Now they understood. And then they said at the same time, "He's/she's not my mate!"

Darwin purred, "I know, I was just kidding. So anyway, I had caught that hawk for you if you wanted it; you looked like you guys were starving anyway, and you got the mouse too. But if you want me to leave-"

"Actually, why don't you come pay the camp a visit?" Quinceheart asked. Hareclaw looked around at her, surprised, and she told him, "Don't worry. If your dad doesn't like it, then we'll make sure Darwin leave the camp safely."

"Okay," Hareclaw replied with a sigh. "But if Dad tears our tails off for this, I'm blaming you."

So Quinceheart and Darwin picked up the mouse and hawk respectively while Hareclaw went back to pick up a ground squirrel he caught earlier. They made their way down the side of the dormant volcano, meeting with the hunting patrol who had hunted just below the volcano. They did question why Darwin was here, but the two young warriors explained that the kittypet wanted to come along.

Once the hunting patrol picked up their prey, they made their way down the hill and towards the clump of trees where they made their camp. But some of the cats here had already spotted Darwin, for the queens ushered their kits into the nursery, and the cats on patrol dumped their fresh-kill on the pile before confronting Darwin. Quinceheart watched the kittypet drop his catch on the pile, dropped the mouse on the pile, and walked over to the crowd to see if things would end well.

"Back from hunting, are you?" Viperstar had appeared out of his den at the foot of a rock pillar, his pale silver fur gleaming in the sunlight as he stepped forth surrounded by the cats. "And who's this?"

Quinceheart flicked her tail behind her towards Darwin. "This is Darwin," she replied. "He's a kittypet who helped us with hunting. And then...we invited him here for a visit. We were hoping that you wouldn't mind."

Viperstar looked between Quinceheart and Darwin while the FireClan cats muttered to themselves while shooting Quinceheart suspicious glances. Then the leader snapped, "Of course I would mind! Did you not know one of our rules, you two? You know how I feel about kittypets. No kittypet, loner, or rogue is supposed to set paw into FireClan."

"He said he was helping us catch prey," Quinceheart explained. "Whenever prey gets scarce at where we hunt, he finds some prey around where he lives."

"She's right, Dad," Hareclaw added. "That explains how we found that huge rabbit on our border the other day. And that's why there was a lot of non-Clan cat scent."

"Be that as it may, he's a kittypet!" Viperstar hissed. "What use can a loner do for us?"

That was when Darwin spoke up. "Sir, I know I'm not much, but I'm a cat like you. Aren't I a cat just like you?"

Viperstar looked as if he had been beaten over the head with a big paw. That was when Darwin continued his speech.

"I've been watching you, not _spying_ on you, whenever you went on patrols," the black-and-white tom went on. "Anytime I see you encounter a kittypet or rogue, you're pretty rude towards 'em. Not your young warriors here, though; Quinceheart and Hareclaw were nice enough to escort me to your camp. They treated me better than you have treated the kittypets and rogues." He stood up and meowed, "I'm not asking you to completely change. I just wanted to tell you that we kittypets can be tough too, that we can handle some stuff on our own."

Quinceheart realized that Darwin was right. So she meowed, "He's right. How long have we warriors looked down on kittypets? I know the warrior code said to reject the kittypet life, but do we have to exclude them as well?"

Viperstar held his tail up. "Stop right there. I've heard enough," he growled at her before turning to Darwin. "How do you know so much about FireClan?"

Darwin met his gaze proudly. "I was once lived here; Poppystar had been very welcoming, for she was my cousin. And now, if you'll excuse me, I better go back home."

They let him pass, watching him go in surprise as he left. Viperstar muttered something about weird kittypets before stalking away from his Clan and to his den. Quinceheart felt better when Darwin left but not because he left. She was feeling better because she now had a new respect for kittypets. She took the hawk from the fresh-kill pile and dragged it over towards the elders' den, where Mossface was waiting for her at the entrance

"I've seen it all from the entrance of this den. And you've done good, youngster," the old gray tom meowed in approval. "I wouldn't be surprised if you became a leader one day."

**_To be continued..._**

**...**

**Warrior Cat Cody: Done with this chapter, and I hope you like it. If there's something you don't like about it or if there's something wrong, don't be afraid to let me know. As long as you're nice about it.**

**Now we got through one other lesson: awareness. That is, awareness that kittypets can be just as tough as Clan cats, rogues, and loners. I was gonna put awareness for autism in this chapter, but I decided to go ahead and put that in the next chapter. You'll find out what it's about when that chapter gets uploaded.**

**See ya next time!**


	4. Dawnfur's Secret Mate

**Warrior Cat Cody: Hey there, everyone, and welcome back to Warrior Cat Tales Of Virtues! I'm gonna focus on this story, The Big Wolf, and Legend Of Owlflame Book 2 before we move on to other stories.**

**This chapter is gonna be kinda like fundamentalism. Basically, it's when people have a very strict belief in something and is horrified when someone else does something against what they normally believe in. Hollyleaf was like this before her disappearance, and after her reappearance, she's become a better cat, not being very strict with the warrior code. And for that, she's earned my respect, going from one of my disliked characters to one of my most liked characters. But here, the main character of this chapter will go beyond fretting about the warrior code.**

**Anyway, sorry about all that. Let's get on with the story.**

**Uploading Date: February 26, 2015**

**Enjoy!**

**...**

**_Dawnfur's Secret Mate_**

With a big claw swipe, Mallowflight drove the EarthClan warrior back and made him fall into the ditch. The light brown tabby she-cat had been called into a fight of AirClan against EarthClan after Lionstar had accused Ravenstar of taking EarthClan land. She was going to go full-out on AirClan like there was no tomorrow, and she wouldn't give up until EarthClan was firmly out of their land.

"Get out of here!" Galeclaw, the AirClan deputy, screeched towards the EarthClan cats. "And take your mud-loving paws with you!"

"Not just yet," the young brown warrior Mallowflight fought growled. "We won't give up!"

"Well said, Elkblaze," Nightfang, deputy of EarthClan, growled. "EarthClan, shove them back to their mountain!"

Galeclaw turned to his warriors and snarled, "AirClan, show them what we're made of!"

The AirClan warriors ran towards their enemies, meeting the wall of teeth and claws with their own. Mallowflight pounced on top of Elkblaze again and raked her claws down his side and to his hind paw, making him hiss in pain. It must have been an injury from apprenticeship, and she was going to keep going for it. She gripped his back paw in her teeth and started biting down hard, making him squeal in pain. And she was about to crunch down more when a cuffing on her ear made her let go of his foot and look around.

"Don't break his foot," a ginger-and-white tom named Slugfoot hissed into her ear. "Even enemies need to flee from battle on all fours."

So Mallowflight reluctantly released Elkblaze and watched him hobble away. Just then, the EarthClan cats were pushing back towards their invaders, catching cats near the eyes with their swipes.

"It's too much," Galeclaw called over the chaos. "AirClan, retreat!"

The AirClan cats immediately broke contact with the EarthClan cats, and they fled up the mountainside. Behind them, they heard the EarthClan cats yowling in triumph, and Mallowflight was upset. They had been a few warriors too short, including her best friend Dawnfur, who was the better fighter out of the two of them. Anyways, they stalked and limped up the mountainside and eventually reached the rock tunnel that led to the AirClan camp, heading into the tunnel and arriving on the other side of the rock.

In front of them was the AirClan camp, which rested on a hillside. Some of the dens were dug into the bottom of the hill while the others had been carved into the rock by a river that ran down the mountain once. The leader's den was inside a rock on top of the hill so that Ravenstar could look down on her Clan and watch their lives go by. As for the medicine den, it was on the farthest right side of the camp, dug in between the dirt and the rock, and Foxmask was coming out of the den, her mouth full of herbs.

"Just look at these wounds!" the black-and-orange she-cat exclaimed. "Everyone who's had a bad injury come to me at once!"

But Mallowflight noticed a cat-like shape awkwardly make its way down the rock barrier and in front of the fresh-kill pile. Her eyes narrowed, she limped over towards the shape and saw that it was Dawnfur. She was just dropping a vole onto the fresh-kill pile and was picking up a partridge when she noticed her friend and dropped the bird on the pile.

"Where have you been?" she asked in a whispering hiss. "We lost the rights to the ditch, and Foxmask is patching up the wounds. Why weren't you with us?"

"I was in the camp," Dawnfur mewed. "Just doing...camp stuff."

Mallowflight didn't believe her. "Not every warrior can be in the camp when a fight goes on. Now where were you?"

The ginger she-cat sighed, looking as if she did not want to talk anymore. But she finally answered, "I was in the Twolegplace, patrolling the borders, when I met this handsome tomcat with long white fur. He was a kittypet, his name is David, and he was really nice."

"And then what?" Mallowflight didn't like where this was going.

"Well...we ended up being mates," Dawnfur finally admitted. "And he's really sweet. I wish you can meet him."

This made Mallowflight back up and stare at her in shock. She had feared this would happen, that someone would fall in love with a kittypet. She had heard of how a kittypet-born leader accepted non-Clan cats into the Clan and considered him a disgrace. Her mother had always taught her that kittypets were not to be trusted, for they could always leech off of the purer warriors and run back to their Twolegs if they showed just a little scratch on the nose.

_Don't believe it when they say kittypets can be as tough as warriors, _her meow echoed into her ears. _They're underneath us, fat and lazy and always scared of the wild. To even think of being friends or StarClan forbid _mates _would be the deepest shame._

"How could you do this?" she hissed aloud at Dawnfur, her voice harsh. "There was a battle going on, and you were hanging around at the Twolegplace!"

"Not all warriors can fight in one battle," Dawnfur tried protesting. "And I was just hunting after meeting with David."

But Mallowflight was already on a roll. "And that's another thing! Hanging around with a _kittypet_?! Cats who laze around, eat rabbit droppings, and haven't heard of a battle in their life!" she spat, using the word "kittypet" like a curse. "What would StarClan think of that? They'll be as angry with you as I am! And how long have you been meeting with him?!"

Dawnfur looked hurt when she said this, but she looked like she didn't care. She retorted, "For two moons. In fact, we've been expecting kits for quite some time."

"Half-kittypet _kits_?! That's against the warrior code!" Mallowflight screeched, sinking her claws into the ground. "You've lost your mind, Dawnfur! You better watch your back, because everyone will hate you until you clean up your act!"

And with that, she limped away, ignoring the shocked and hurt look on her friend's face.

**...**

True to her word, Mallowflight started spreading rumors about Dawnfur, saying that she was considering abandoning the Clan to be with a kittypet. After that, AirClan now watched Dawnfur with a suspicious look, acting as if she had caught whitecough and was spreading it around. Queens kept their kits away from her, and some of the apprentices even came over to make fun of her. The ginger she-cat endured it, but anytime she appeared to be alone, she would leave the camp and grieve silently.

Mallowflight saw how upset Dawnfur looked after all this...and felt that she deserved it. That would teach her to be mates with a kittypet! But there was also the matter of the kits, which she believed went completely against the warrior code. Maybe if she took them once they were born and dumped them off somewhere, then the matter could be done for good.

_It's for her own good, _Mallowflight thought to herself. _If that doesn't work, I can always get them to break up._

But there was no time to think about it, for Galeclaw was organizing the daily patrols. "Take a border patrol around the edges of EarthClan," the orange tabby tom was meowing. "If you see any EarthClan cats lurking around, challenge them, and if they don't give in, chase them off. If not, then just mark the borders and do the same around the Thunderpath. Plus, make sure to bring back some water from the stream nearby if you will; the elders are getting thirsty, and you know how cranky thirsty elders can be."

"All right, Galeclaw," a black tom named Darkstorm meowed. "Who should we take with us?"

Mallowflight padded over, but for some odd reason, Galeclaw looked angry when her name was mentioned. Then the deputy meowed, "Anyone but Mallowflight. Ravenstar and I actually wanted a word with her."

The confidence she had felt for the past quarter-moon burst like a bubble in a stream. What would the Clan deputy _and _the Clan leader want with her? Once the border patrol left, Galeclaw flicked his tail towards him, an indication for Mallowflight to follow. She followed him into climbing up the steep slope of the hill until they were before the leader's den.

"Ravenstar, it's me, and I brought Mallowflight," Galeclaw called. "I'm coming in."

They walked on through the entrance, Mallowflight catching sight of the roof of the den before going underneath. Ravenstar was sitting at the back of the cave in her nest, tail wrapped around her paws and her golden eyes gleaming. It was a wonder why everyone in the Clan called her a shadow whenever a cat went to see her. She flicked her tail down to the floor beneath her as a way to say "Sit", and she did so, Galeclaw sitting in between them.

"Galeclaw told me something interesting," the black cat began icily as they settled on the cold stone ground. "Something about all the rumors about Dawnfur. We were wondering if you had anything to do with it."

_How did he know? _Mallowflight thought angrily. Out loud, she finally meowed, "Yes I did. She mated with a _kittypet_, and she's expecting his kits. I spread those rumors so no one else would pick up the habit."

"No you didn't," Galeclaw growled. "All you did was humiliate a Clanmate for something that shouldn't have been a big deal in the first place."

"But she mated with a kittypet! It's wrong!" Mallowflight whined. She was frustrated that her leader and deputy didn't think the same as she. "Kittypets will dilute AirClan blood!"

Ravenstar gave her the coldest glare she had ever given her. "In case you hadn't heard, I had a kittypet for a grandfather. His name was Hutch, and he had been a warrior in the past before becoming a kittypet."

Part of Mallowflight felt that the leader and deputy were right, but anger clouded her judgement. So she hissed, "All right, all right! I'm sorry, okay?"

"Don't raise your voice at us," Galeclaw snapped as his gray fur bristled, not fooled by the empty words. "And it's Dawnfur you need to apologize to, not us. Thanks to you, everyone now believes your lies and think she's a traitor."

"What's worse," Ravenstar added with a growl, "is that she's considering leaving AirClan because of your ignorance. And let me give you a short history lesson: every Clan cat has been descended from rogues, loners, former Clan cats, and yes, even kittypets. And if there are kits born half-kittypet and half-Clan, they can be raised here and not feel conflicted about who to stay with. If word of your actions spread out to the other Clans, they'll throw out other cats just because you couldn't let go of your prejudices!"

"FINE!" Mallowflight screeched. "I get it! I'll go apologize to her! Now get off my back!"

She turned on her paws and stalked off. Before she left, she heard Galeclaw yowl after her, "We won't until you drop that attitude!"

But Mallowflight didn't hear anymore, heading down the hill and ignoring the whispering from her Clanmates. She headed into the rock tunnel that led to the outside world and pushed her way through until she was out of camp. Spotting a robin on a nearby tree branch, she supposed that this should be enough for Dawnfur and to keep her StarClan-forsaken furballs fed.

Suddenly, a bark and a yowl made her turn away from the robin. Perhaps she could go and see who made that yowl; the hunt would have to wait. Thus, Mallowflight turned away from her prey and ran down a few ledges before coming across something shocking.

Dawnfur was in a clearing fighting a big black dog, and she was losing. She herself looked thinner as if she had given birth to her kits already, and Mallowflight found herself hoping that they were out of harm's way. In the meantime, Dawnfur had gripped onto the dog's throat, making the larger animal angrier as it tried to shake her off. The beast had enough, for it wrenched her off of its neck and bit down hard on her throat, causing her to gasp as the life was fatally squeezed out of her.

"Dawnfur!" Mallowflight yowled, watching the dog hurl Dawnfur's body against a tree before howling victoriously. With a scream, she hurled herself out of the bushes, darted under the dog, and sliced her claws upward towards the dog's underbelly. The dog wasn't expecting any company, for it gave a yelp and ran back through the bushes, its baying resounding through the forest.

Once the dog was gone, Mallowflight watched the remaining kit mewling desperately, blind and deaf and helpless, before running over to Dawnfur. It was too late to save her; her eyes were pale with death, and bloody scars covered her body.

_My best friend's dead...and it's all because of me, _she cried silently to herself. She had wanted Dawnfur to learn a lesson, not die. _Dawnfur, I'm sorry! I'm sorry I tried to force my opinions onto you! Forgive me!_

Then she noticed the kitten lying behind her and mewling for milk, orange like her mother with a white muzzle. With a ragged sigh, she draped her tail around it and drew it closer to her as she thought, _I'll take care of you. I'll be the mother and friend I hadn't been to Dawnfur...Sunkit._

**_To be continued..._**

**...**

**Warrior Cat Cody: Done with this chapter at last! I hope everyone else likes this chapter because I can fix it if there's something wrong. And please tell me if there's something wrong as long as you're polite about it.**

**About this chapter, I can't help but feel slightly confused. I know ignorance is usually showing shallow views on stuff like homosexuality or accepting one's beliefs or something like that. But maybe it could also be aware of stuff like autism (which I'm proud to have) and Downs' Syndrome. If either one is the true definition of ignorance, please let me know. But like I said before, be polite about it.**

**See ya next time!**


	5. Patrols And Pesky Kits

**Warrior Cat Cody: Hey there, everyone, and welcome back to Warrior Cat Tales Of Virtues! The great author IWalkBlindlyIntoTheDarkness himself/herself has left a review or two, and he/she is an excellent author of Darktail's Tales. Why don't you check them out?**

**So now we're going the reverse way now. We started with the toms in WaterClan and EarthClan, and then there were the she-cats in FireClan and AirClan. Here, we're starting with toms in AirClan and FireClan. Like I said plenty of times before, you'll notice the pattern.**

**Uploading Date: March 12, 2015**

**Enjoy!**

**...**

_**Patrols And Pesky Kits**_

The greenleaf air was so hot that Galeclaw could barely stand it. The AirClan deputy ruffled his gray fur once to fan himself, but the high warmth wasn't enough to cool him down. With a pant, he got up, yawned, and padded out of the warriors' den and into the camp.

Since AirClan lived on a grassy hill in the mountains, they were preparing to go down to the stream between the Thunderpath and the mountain. Some of the Clan spent every greenleaf near the stream, carrying water between them up to the camp. But since the queens and elders couldn't travel too far except to Gatherings, they had to remain in the main camp, so warriors and apprentices stayed behind. Galeclaw was one of those warriors, so he had appointed a warrior or two the leaders of the mini-camp until greenleaf ended.

Right now, Ravenstar had stayed behind at the camp to look out for the weaker cats. And Galeclaw remembered that he had to attend a small meeting with said leader, so we find him in her den, listening to what she had to say.

"EarthClan's planning on meeting us at the ditch just to gloat their victory in our faces," Ravenstar was saying. "But we will not let that happen. Galeclaw, will you lead a battle patrol over to the ditch?"

"Sure, Ravenstar. I'll get to it," Galeclaw replied. With a respectful nod, he slipped out of her den and out into the clearing.

Once he got there, he called three of the most senior warriors over and meowed, "How would you three like to take a battle patrol over to the ditch? To give EarthClan a lesson about mocking us."

One of the warriors, a tom named Slugfoot, meowed, "You bet we'll go there!"

"Good," Galeclaw meowed. "Slugfoot, lead a battle party right towards the ditch and confront the cats there. Yellowfoot, lead another group on either side and then strike from above while the fight goes on. I'll catch up with you shortly with a third patrol."

"Hey Galeclaw!" He looked up to see a ginger apprentice named Sunpaw careening into his forelegs. "I heard you're gonna fight EarthClan! Can I go with the battle patrol today?"

Galeclaw wasn't so sure about that. AirClan had recently declared that they were taking the ditch back from EarthClan, and it was going to be a tough battle. Sunpaw was still too young to be in a major battle. He couldn't die just sometime after his mother Dawnfur was killed by a dog.

So he meowed, "No, this battle will be too intense for someone your age. Why don't you help Foxmask with some chores or something like that?"

"I don't wanna," Sunpaw grumbled. "She's boring, and her den smells nasty!"

"Hey, show her and her den some respect," Galeclaw scolded the apprentice. "Foxmask had been doing her best to heal everyone. Without an apprentice, she just has to do the healing by herself."

Sunpaw snorted. "She doesn't have to be stuck in there all day. What's even the point of having a medicine cat?"

Galeclaw was feeling his patience wearing thin. "The point of having a medicine cat is to keep ungrateful little furballs like you healthy and safe," he snapped. "Now get the battle out of your head and take something for the elders to eat!"

He almost felt guilty when he saw the hurt on his face, but it was replaced by anger as he stomped off. Galeclaw felt that he should at least owe him an apology, but his pride wouldn't let him. He wasn't going to get Sunpaw get the satisfaction that he could get away with being disrespectful.

"Did you really have to insult him like that?"

Galeclaw looked up. Mallowflight was padding over towards him, a frown on her face, and he groaned to himself. He didn't need to be told off by the cat who had caused his niece to be killed by a dog.

"What else was I supposed to do?" he snapped back. "You know what Sunpaw's like. He's been acting bratty ever since he set paw outside the nursery."

"That's because he lost his mother," Mallowflight countered. "He hasn't had a true mother figure or father figure to help him out with respect."

Galeclaw snorted. "And whose fault is it that he has no mother or father?"

The light brown tabby she-cat's eyes narrowed, and Galeclaw found himself wishing he could take it back. But he was too stubborn to back down. Then Mallowflight rasped, "I learned my lesson, on how kittypets can be good. I think it's _you _who needs a lesson on respect, and I don't care if you're the deputy; I'm tired of _your _attitude."

Now that she mentioned it, Galeclaw grudgingly admitted that she was right; he even remembered telling her almost the same thing on the day Dawnfur died. But he didn't want to admit it out loud.

"Never mind that," he growled. "You're needed for the hunting patrol anyway."

So Mallowflight joined the patrol at the entrance, though some of the cats gave her critical looks. Galeclaw guessed that they had heard the true story from her, how she had driven Dawnfur away because she had mated with a kittypet. He himself didn't like that, but at least he didn't scold her constantly about it.

Behind him, the battle party was staring at Galeclaw as if he had grown a double tail tip. Irritably, he asked, "Well, what're you all waiting for? Let's go confront those EarthClan cats!"

**...**

A few hours later at sunset, the AirClan battle party came back, injured and tired but satisfied. Galeclaw's ambush tactic had worked, and EarthClan had not been expecting an attack from above. It wasn't enough to get the ditch back, but it seemed that the ambush would teach them a lesson they wouldn't forget. They had stopped to hunt for the Clan along the way, catching birds and mice. Galeclaw had gotten a juicy starling and was just going to show them when he remembered something.

He felt that he should save the starling for Sunpaw. Sunpaw was behaving like a furball, yes, and he was prone to being reckless. But Galeclaw himself hadn't made the situation better; in fact, he had insulted the apprentice in front of his warriors. So he decided to work up his apology the best he could and hope that bygones would be bygones.

"Sunpaw! Get your sorry tail back here! You just scared that thrush away!"

Galeclaw stiffened when he heard the voice in the trees. The voice belonged to Hawkspeck, a warrior four seasons older than him and known for his bad attitude. Now he felt sorry for Sunpaw having been chosen to be his apprentice.

"Take this starling back to camp," he told one of the warriors. "I'm gonna go check something out. Tell Ravenstar I'll be fine."

The warriors looked confused, but they nodded and took the starling.

"I got something else this time," Sunpaw was mewing, setting something down before Hawkspeck. "I got a shrew."

The mottled dark gray tom glared down at the piece of prey. "You call that prey?" he growled. "I've seen grubs bigger than this! Scrawny prey for a scrawny ball of fur like you!"

"But it's better than nothing," Sunpaw protested, trying to sound brave. "And why don't you show me what to do instead of _telling _me?"

Galeclaw rolled his eyes, but what happened next made Galeclaw's irritation towards Sunpaw fade away. "You disrespectful little mouse-heart!" Hawkspeck snarled as he reared up on his hind legs, forepaw raised up to strike. "Can't you do anything right?! I'll teach you a lesson you won't forget, you flea-bitten little-"

But he didn't get to finish. For Galeclaw found himself yowling "That's far enough, Hawkspeck!" and jumping in between them just in time. He took the blow from Hawkspeck's claws and felt a stinging pain on his face when he got slashed, but this wound was nothing compared to what Sunpaw suffered.

He looked around to see Sunpaw staring at him in surprise, crouching low to the ground. The look he had when Galeclaw scolded him earlier was there now, and he felt even more ashamed. Perhaps Mallowflight was right about her nephew.

Galeclaw glared around at Hawkspeck and spat, "That right there was flat-out abuse! What right do you have to treat an apprentice like that?"

"Apprentices like him are always disrespectful!" Hawkspeck bit back, getting back up to his paws. "I was just teaching him a lesson."

"By beating him until he's mouse meat?!" Galeclaw argued back. "I'm sick of this attitude of yours! Ravenstar must have bees in her brain to give a bright young cat like Sunpaw a mentor like you!" He tapped Sunpaw on the shoulder and meowed, "Let's get back to camp, Sunpaw."

Sunpaw nodded quickly and darted to his side, looking surprised and relieved that the deputy had saved him. Hawkspeck was yowling after them, "Hey! Where do you think you're going?!"

Galeclaw glared over his shoulder. "To Ravenstar. She'll know what to do."

**...**

"Let all cats old enough to climb trees gather at the Hill Rock!"

Galeclaw already took his spot at the foot of the rock, looking up to where Ravenstar usually held meetings. Hawkspeck and Sunpaw were already before it, and he hoped Hawkstrike didn't give him more trouble than was needed. While looking around, he noticed Mallowflight looking concerned when she saw Sunpaw being brought up front like this.

At last, the cats had gathered around the Hill Rock. Then Ravenstar began, "Galeclaw told me about what happened between Hawkspeck and Sunpaw. He told me that though Sunpaw was a little disrespectful towards Hawkspeck, Hawkspeck was going to actually hit him. That is never allowed in this Clan except when using training moves."

"And what he did wasn't much of training," Galeclaw added. "It consisted of name calling and physical assault, and he knows it."

"No it wasn't!" Hawkspeck snarled. "I was gonna teach the brat a lesson, that's all!"

"Well, we don't want an abuser mentoring an apprentice!" one warrior in the back yelled. "Ravenstar, let's just banish him and get it over with!"

"When you become leader, Stonedusk, you will make that decision. As for I, I will not banish Hawkspeck," she revealed, and Galeclaw and most of the Clan were left disappointed. But Ravenstar went on, "However, he will be monitored at all times. So Hawkspeck, you are no longer Sunpaw's mentor. Until you can keep your temper in check, I won't let you mentor another apprentice. And if you lay a claw on another apprentice again, I _will _reconsider exiling you."

The mottled tom merely glowered, but he didn't say anything.

"Slugfoot, it's time you've had an apprentice. You will be mentor to Sunpaw," Ravenstar told the dark orange tom as he stepped over. "Despite the name, AirClan has appreciated your swiftness and willing to learn, and I hope you can pass these down to your apprentice."

Slugfoot nodded and calmly touched noses with Sunpaw, who looked relieved. Around them, the cats staying behind in the main camp called, "Slugfoot! Sunpaw! Slugfoot! Sunpaw!"

Galeclaw watched this scene, recalling when he had seen Sunpaw become Hawkspeck's apprentice. The young cat looked happier than on that day, and he felt like calling out his and Slugfoot's names out loud too. But there was still enough daylight left for more patrolling, so he decided to take a solitary patrol and head towards the rock tunnel.

"Hey Galeclaw!" He turned to see Sunpaw standing behind him just as he was ready to leave. "I wanted to say sorry for earlier. I guess I _was _acting like a little furball after all."

Galeclaw gave him a nod and then replied, "I also owe you an apology; I'm sorry for even calling you names. When I was trying to teach you respect...I guess I forgot my lessons on that." With a flick of his tail, he asked, "If Slugfoot lets you, how about I teach you about manners? The right way?"

Sunpaw purred. "Okay! Let me go tell Slugfoot!"

"Then hurry, you little furball," Galeclaw chuckled, nudging him away from him.

"Did you call me furball?" Sunpaw asked, sounding as if he was offended. But then his ears twitched as he meowed happily, "Oh I will, you grumpy old fox!"

Galeclaw gave a half-hearted growl and watched as the apprentice ran over towards the warriors' den. Life was good now, and he was going to enjoy it.

**_To be continued..._**

**...**

**Warrior Cat Cody: There we go. I hope you all like this chapter, everyone. If not, I'll go back and fix any mistakes. By the way, the double tail tip part came from Japanese folklore, saying that a cat with a double tail tip was a demon. Heck, the ****Pokémon Espeon has a double tail tip!**

**Why I didn't write much of a battle scene is not because I don't like battle scenes; it's just that, you know, not every chapter will have a battle scene. There may be some here and there unlike what happened in Twilight...the book series, not the Warriors book. There were actions scenes in that Warriors book.**

**See ya next time!**


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